Social Scientist

Duties

WHAT IS THE Research, Applied Analytics and Statistics (RAAS)DIVISION?

A description of the business units can be found at: https://www.jobs.irs.gov/about/who/business-divisions

Vacancies will be filled in the following specialty areas:

Research, Applied Analytics and Statistics Data Exploration and Testing

The following are the duties of this position at the full working level.

As an advanced trainee social scientist, the incumbent works with higher-level social economists, social

psychologists, and statisticians, and is responsible for small segments of initiation, formulation, planning,

execution, and control of social science studies.

Assists in determining the objectives of social psychology and social economics research project and the

methodology to be used to obtain the objectives.

Assists in developing specifications for a segment of the social psychology research study, presenting the

data and analytical material in the form most suitable to the end users.

Provides assistance in performing social psychology, and social economics research from a variety of

available sources and interprets pertinent information.

Assists in producing tables and graphical materials using standard computer software packages.

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Requirements

Conditions of Employment

STANDARD POSITION DESCRIPTIONS (SPD):

PD95250, PD95251, and PD95252

Visit the IRS SPD Library to access the position descriptions.

• Telework Eligible Positions: Telework eligible positions do not guarantee telework.
  
  Employees must meet and sustain IRS telework eligibility requirements (e.g., reporting at least twice a pay period to your assigned Post of Duty (POD)) and supervisor's approval to participate in the IRS Telework Program. Employees must also be within a 200-mile radius of their official assigned post-of-duty (POD) while in a telework status. As a reminder

• If you are selected for a position, you are responsible for reporting to your designated POD (location) on the negotiated start date or as directed by management.

• Obtain and use a Government-issued charge card for business-related travel.

• Sign a mobility agreement.

Qualifications

Federal experience is not required. The experience may have been gained in the public sector, private sector or Volunteer Service.

One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-time work is considered on a prorated basis. To ensure full credit for your work experience, please indicate dates of employment by month/year, and indicate number of hours worked per week, on your resume.

You must meet the following requirements by the closing date of this announcement:

BASIC REQUIREMENT :

A Degree in behavioral or social science; or related disciplines appropriate to the position. OR

A combination of education and experience that provided the applicant with knowledge of one or more of the behavioral or social sciences equivalent to a major in the field. OR

Four years of appropriate experience that demonstrated that the applicant has acquired knowledge of one or more of the behavioral or social sciences equivalent to a major in the field.

In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the qualification requirements listed below:

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: GS-07 LEVEL:

In addition to meeting the basic requirements your experience must also include one of the following: One (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-5 level. Your experience must demonstrate knowledge of standard methods and principles of social economics and social psychology and their application to tax return statistics, and related research projects; Experience using basic knowledge of social economic and social psychology research and study design and administration processes from the formulation of concepts through specification and analysis of output to the presentation of conclusions; Experience using knowledge of standard statistical principles and practices sufficient to perform developmental assignments; Experience using knowledge of oriented computer programming languages and statistical software packages.

OR

EDUCATION: You may substitute education for specialized experience as follows:

One (1) year of graduate level education at an accredited college or university in behavioral or social science; or related disciplines appropriate to the position. OR Superior Academic Achievement may be met by having a Bachelor's degree, with one of the following: A GPA of 2.95 or higher on a 4.0 scale for all completed undergraduate courses or those completed in the last 2 years of study, or a GPA of 3.45 or higher on a 4.0 scale for all courses in the major field of study or those courses in the major completed in the last 2 years of study, or rank in the upper one third of the class in the college, university, or major subdivision, or membership in a national honor society recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies.

OR

COMBINATION OF EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION: You may qualify by a combination of experience and education. Options for qualifying based on a combination will be identified in the online questions.

AND

MEET TIME IN GRADE (TIG) REQUIREMENT: You must meet applicable TIG requirements to be considered eligible.

To meet TIG for positions above the GS-05 grade level, you must have served at least one year (52 weeks) at the next lower grade (or equivalent) in the normal line of progression for the position you are applying to. Advancement to positions up to GS-05 is permitted if the position to be filled is no more than two grades above the lowest grade held within the preceding 52 weeks.

AND

TIME AFTER COMPETITIVE APPOINTMENT: By the closing date (or if this is an open continuous announcement, by the cut-off date) specified in this job announcement, current civilian employees must have completed at least 90 days of federal civilian service since their latest non-temporary appointment from a competitive referral certificate, known as time after competitive appointment. For this requirement, a competitive appointment is one where you applied to and were appointed from an announcement open to "All US Citizens".

For more information on qualifications please refer to OPM's Qualifications Standards.

Education

A copy of your transcripts or equivalent documentation is required for positions with an education requirement, or if you are qualifying based on education or a combination of education and experience. An official transcript will be required if you are selected.

If the position has specific education requirements and you currently hold, or have previously held, a position in the same job series with the IRS, there is no need to submit a transcript or equivalent at this time. Applicants are encouraged, but are not required, to submit an SF-50 documenting experience in a specific series.

A college or university degree generally must be from an accredited (or pre-accredited) college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools which meet these criteria, please refer to Department of Education Accreditation page.

FOREIGN EDUCATION: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the requirements.

You must show proof the education credentials have been deemed to be at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education program. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. Click here for Foreign Education Credentialing instructions.

Additional information

• We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies. Additional jobs may be filled.

• The salary range indicated in this announcement reflects the minimum locality pay up to maximum locality pay for all duty locations listed. The range will be adjusted for selected duty location. General Schedule locality pay tables may be found under Salaries & Wages.

• This is a bargaining unit position.

• Tour of Duty: Day Shift

• Start and stop times between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.

• Alternative work schedule, staggered work hours or telework may be available.

• In the event that a building is closed due to rent management, new hires may be placed in a local commuting location.

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